So, the brie from the blog was my first successful recipe from the book. Even with all the oil separating during cooking, it seems to be ok after it set up. It air dried really nicely for 36 hours and now it's in the fridge. I cut it into a wedge shape to cut off some of the super cracked parts and I'm going to bring it to a party tonight. There will only be 2 or 3 vegans there, so we'll see if people try it and how they react.

_________________I am not a troll. I am TELLING YOU THE ******GOD'S TRUTH****** AND YOU JUST DON'T WANT THE HEAR IT DO YOU?

Enjoy the brie tonight, Ijustdiedinsde. My cheese-loving husband could not quit chowing down on that stuff- it's definitely a hit in our house. I took the pub-cheese to a NYE party and got mixed reviews...I wish I would've taken the brie or goat cheese. I used a dark beer, and I think the appearance of it put off some folks; esp since the flippin' host announced it was vegan. I was hoping to slip it in unnoticed and see what everyone thought.

I made the pizza from the recipes in the back of the book last night, and topped it with a jarred red sauce, mushroom, onions, and of course, the meltable mozz. (I really need to take pictures & post these things). The crust was really yummy, as was the whole pizza. I used my pizza stone, but for the first pizza I had put a little too much flour on the cutting board to slide it off & kind of had to dust it off the bottom before I ate it. That was a beginners mistake on my part, because the whole thing was really delicious. Pizza for lunch, yay!

_________________I once caught the clap from a salty navy bean on shore leave. Damn beans.--Desdemona

I think my new goals with this book are to really, really set the cheeses. I've been adding some/more agar powder to the blocks I'm trying for, and I've rarely got something sliceable unless it was one of the air-dried recipes. I added over a tablespoon of agar to a smokey version of the melty cheddar that I cultured 24 hours and then set overnight, and it's still more of a thick dip. It's absolutely delicious, but I'll add even more agar next time. I really want to try it on a baked potato.

I think my new goals with this book are to really, really set the cheeses. I've been adding some/more agar powder to the blocks I'm trying for, and I've rarely got something sliceable unless it was one of the air-dried recipes. I added over a tablespoon of agar to a smokey version of the melty cheddar that I cultured 24 hours and then set overnight, and it's still more of a thick dip. It's absolutely delicious, but I'll add even more agar next time. I really want to try it on a baked potato.

Are the meltables supposed to firm up? Mine are somewhat gelatinous cold, but when I've used them for melting- grilled cheese, enchilada's, pizza, mixed in with mac and cheese- they've been right on the money. But they are kind of gooey and sort of icky texture-wise straight out of the fridge. I guess I thought that was how they were meant to be.

The goat cheese and brie have been yummy and sliceable for me. I still haven't tried any of the air dried cheeses yet. I'm aiming to get two started this week.

_________________I once caught the clap from a salty navy bean on shore leave. Damn beans.--Desdemona

For those who have had trouble witht he flavor of the tapioca - what is it that you taste? I tried a recipe (not from this book) today that had a strange chemically/bitter taste and wondering if it could have been the tapioca.

Mine have tasted kind of metallic, slightly bitter and pungent. Hard to describe...

My air-dried camembert turned out very tart and sharp, almost sour. It cracked a lot more than the gouda I tried before. But it's pretty good in sandwiches.

I think my new goals with this book are to really, really set the cheeses. I've been adding some/more agar powder to the blocks I'm trying for, and I've rarely got something sliceable unless it was one of the air-dried recipes. I added over a tablespoon of agar to a smokey version of the melty cheddar that I cultured 24 hours and then set overnight, and it's still more of a thick dip. It's absolutely delicious, but I'll add even more agar next time. I really want to try it on a baked potato.

Are the meltables supposed to firm up? Mine are somewhat gelatinous cold, but when I've used them for melting- grilled cheese, enchilada's, pizza, mixed in with mac and cheese- they've been right on the money. But they are kind of gooey and sort of icky texture-wise straight out of the fridge. I guess I thought that was how they were meant to be.

The goat cheese and brie have been yummy and sliceable for me. I still haven't tried any of the air dried cheeses yet. I'm aiming to get two started this week.

Oh, don't mind me. I've made most? all? of the meltables, and the only one that really firmed was the muenster (and I went to a demo where Miyoko's was even firmer - sliced on crackers). I'm simply playing around here. : )

The smoked provolone I made did end up firming up very well. I even froze a portion of it for a bit through new years and it was very tasty after thawed. Anyway, I made these lovely little concoctions with my smoked provolone, quinoa flatbread, some greens and tomatoes--nom nom nom :)

And in case you were wondering, the smoked provolone melts beautifully

So now I am working on the pub cheese and the brie. I will update once I have something.

Yay, I got this book yesterday as a late Christmas present! I'm so excited, can't wait to start making some nice cheeses. I've been following this thread for a while now and it literally makes my mouth water.

I'm in the process of making my first cheese at the moment, the sharp cheddar, and it's been culturing for about 30 hours so far. I'm going to replace the xanthan gum with guar gum, will be interesting to see how it turns out.

Got the book yesterday, am starting rejuvelac today (with quinoa). Has anyone tried making yoghurt with oat, rice or coconut milk? I'm allergic to almonds, and soy milk/yoghurt makes my throat itch and my eyes puff up. The oat yoghurt available here is so sweet there's no way I can make cheese with it.

_________________I tend to hook up with people who give me chocolate, but I fail to see how this is a bad thing./tofulish

so i have made four cheese so far: sharp cheddar, air dried brie, chevre, and hard gruyere. none of them are really as firm as i thought they would be and i am kinda disappointed. i just made them all this past week, so maybe they firm up more as they age longer? they are also all kinda oily which is weird, how do i fix this? the pictures in the book don't really resemble how my cheeses look--the sharp cheddar and gruyere are both more like spreads, the chevre isn't sturdy enough to mold into a log, and the brie is starting to get cracks in it (i think it'll be done air drying tomorrow). help?!? i wanna be a cheese master! the sour cream turned out really well though!

Got the book yesterday, am starting rejuvelac today (with quinoa). Has anyone tried making yoghurt with oat, rice or coconut milk? I'm allergic to almonds, and soy milk/yoghurt makes my throat itch and my eyes puff up. The oat yoghurt available here is so sweet there's no way I can make cheese with it.

I would go for an oat milk yoghurt enriched with cashews like in the book, or an oat/coconut combo. For cheese i would recommend oat/ cashew. BUT you will need to thicken it with some starch. I like glutinous rice flour. I need to go to sleep now but i can give some more specific directions later.

When making the rejuvelac, why do I have to culture it in two separate jars? I don't have two jars, I have one big one. Can I just do that, or would that screw it up?

_________________Did you notice the slight feeling of panic at the words "Chicken Basin Street"? Like someone was walking over your grave? Try not to remember. We must never remember. - mumblesIs this about devilberries and nazifruit again? - footface

Got the book yesterday, am starting rejuvelac today (with quinoa). Has anyone tried making yoghurt with oat, rice or coconut milk? I'm allergic to almonds, and soy milk/yoghurt makes my throat itch and my eyes puff up. The oat yoghurt available here is so sweet there's no way I can make cheese with it.

I have not had luck with almond or rice milk, even enriched with cashews. I think there is just not enough protein for them to thicken properly. The rice milk didn't do anything and had to be thrown away. The almond milk cultured, but was more like buttermilk than yogurt. That's when I looked at my containers of store bought almond milk and realized how many thickeners they use. I'm guessing oat milk will have the same problem as the rice milk. I know at least one other person on this thread has had luck with coconut milk yogurt. I would try that, and definitely try it belnded with the cashews to give some body.

I have not had luck with almond or rice milk, even enriched with cashews. I think there is just not enough protein for them to thicken properly. The rice milk didn't do anything and had to be thrown away. The almond milk cultured, but was more like buttermilk than yogurt. That's when I looked at my containers of store bought almond milk and realized how many thickeners they use. I'm guessing oat milk will have the same problem as the rice milk. I know at least one other person on this thread has had luck with coconut milk yogurt. I would try that, and definitely try it belnded with the cashews to give some body.

Loomi wrote:

I would go for an oat milk yoghurt enriched with cashews like in the book, or an oat/coconut combo. For cheese i would recommend oat/ cashew. BUT you will need to thicken it with some starch. I like glutinous rice flour. I need to go to sleep now but i can give some more specific directions later.

Thank you both! I don't mind using some starch as long as the result is good. I want thick, creamy yoghurt, that I can use for sauces and stuff (used to eat a lot of Turkish style yoghurt).

_________________I tend to hook up with people who give me chocolate, but I fail to see how this is a bad thing./tofulish